Gas-producing and heat-generating process.



PATENTED APR. so, 1907.

A. E. JOHNSON. v GAS PRODUCING AND HEAT GENERATING PROCESS.

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' No. 851,756. PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

A. E. JOHNSON. GAS PRODUCING AND HEAT GENERATING PROCESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, [UMTED STATES- PlgrENT orrron.

ALFRED E; JOHNSON, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR .TO THE JOHNSON FURNACEAND ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF coLoRAnO SPRINGS. COL'O- RADO. 3

' GAS-PRODUCING AND Specification of Letters Patent. Application filedJi11y1.1905- Serial nt-mw.

HEAT-GENERATING Pnoczss.

Patented April a0, 1907;

T alll whom, it may concern: v

' Be it known that I, ALFRED E. JOHNSON, a

citizen of the United States, residing at the tate conditions whereby tcit and county of Denver and State of Colora 0, have invented a certainnew and useful Gas-Producing and Heat-Generating Process; and I dodeclare the followin to be a .full, clear, and exact descri tion oft einvention, such as will enable ot ers skilled in the art to whichitappertains to make and use reference being had to the accoma' part ofthis specification. v M invention relates to a gas-produc ng andeat-generating process,

tible elements contained in t efuel, and at the same time localize thecombustion whereby thegreatest heat may be generated where it isrequired. These reqliliirements necessi e fuel is only par tiallyconsumed in the fuel bed, the remainder of the fuel passing upwardly asgas or unconsumed fuel elements; and bringing air heated 'to the properdegree, into engagement withthese unconsumed elements at the desiredlocation where the heat is to be utilized for the purpose intended. Inorder to roduce these conditions, I maintain a thick bed of fuel in' thefire box, and pass air and steam under pressure up through this bed.

' combine Inthis event a comparatively small portion of the fuelis'consume'd in thebed, while the portion of it isformed into gas'by thegreater d action'of the "air and' steam, this as rising upwardly abovethe fuel bed. I also 'inti'oduce air under pressureinto chamwar-(11ypositesides of the fire box but extending hers formed in the furnacewall on. opposite sides of the fire box bar'ry'this air upinto chambersabove and also on opa'bovethe fuel bed,"'th'e last named-chambersvc'ommuriicatingwith the'fire box at the top of the fuel bed. Th'e,velocity of the air when introduced into these upper chambers and lacross'the fire box communicatin openings,

r p bers from produces a partial vacuum int ese upper chambers whereby aportion of the flame and heated gases is drawn into the upper cham- Ithe an so introduced is suitably -heate Above this point where theflame. and heated my object being to utilize, tothe best advantage thecombus-- of the fuel bed, whereby upper chambers are separatedfrom thefire box, thus preventing the heated air from coming incontact with therising producer two opposing currents of hot arefformed and as thesecurrents meet at the. top of the arch, they are given adownwardiinpetusby virtue of their own resistance or o posing ac- .tion,and though considerabllyl eated, are still at a lower temperature t anthe rising gases from the fuel bed, and therefore have a naturaldownward tendenc whereby they are caused to mingle with t e unconsumedfuel elements, resulting in approximately perfect combustion in a zonesuitabl located between the arch of the furnace an the top of the fuelbed. This zone ma be varied according to circumstances an accordin toBelow this zone of combustion is a zone of .incombustible productsrising from t e fuel bed and occu iying a position immediately above thefuel ed, whereby the latter is protected from the direct contact of theair from above. The'fuel of the bed is thus prevented from gases risefrom the top of this protecting zone andunite with the air introduced'above,

the fuel be TlllS is an essential feature in carrying out the process.

Havin briefly outlined my improved process, I Wlll proceed to describe asuitable mechanical construction for practicing or carrying the sameinto effect; This construction is illustrated in the accompanyingdiawing in which,-

Figure 1 is a'vertical longitudinal section of the furnace; the sidewall onv one side being '1 partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a verticalcross section taken between the bridge wall and the front wall of thefurnace, F g. 3 is gases are made to minglewiththe-air, these gas orunconsumed fuel elements, until these I the uses to which the furnace isto be app ied.

uncons'umed fuel elements containin some burning too rapidly. As theother gases come up from the fuel bed, thus maintainin the as protectingzone above an enlarged fragmentary detail view similar to Fig. 2.

The same reference characters indicate'the same parts in all the views.I

Let the numeral5 designate the inc-losing walls -of the furnace equippedwith buckstays in the usual manner and also provided with an arch 6which may be modified to uit the special requirements to which theurnace is to be applied. The side walls are provided with chambers 7which communicats at their rear extremities with .atransverse chamber 8formed in the bridge wall and whose bottom wall is slotted as shown at 9whereby the chamber 8 communicates. with a chamber 10 below, into whichair is' introduced under pressure from a feed pipe 12. This air risingthrough the slot 9 enters the chamber 8 and passes forwardly throughboth side chambers 7. The to walls of these chambers 7 are provided wito' enings in which are inserted nozzles 13 of re ativel y small diameterand which protrude into relatively narrow compartments or short flues 14commencing at the level of the top of the fuel bed and extendingupwardly a short distance. These short fines 14 are formed by placingsmall partition walls 15 between the outer wall of'the furnace and innerWalls 16 preferably composed of fire clay or other suitable refractorymaterial. At the bottom of these walls are formed openings 17 leadingfrom the fire box just above the fuel bed, to the compartments or shortflues 14'.

Above the top lines 14 or above the tops of the partitions 15, thesurfaces of the adjacent walls 16 are beveled as shown at 18 whereby thechambers 19 between the walls 16 and the outer walls of the furnace areensary combination of combustion-supporting and combustion-retardingmedia is introduced to a closed chamber 20 below the grate 21 supportingthe fuel bed. This chamber 20 should be sealed whereby there is no escape for the fluid introduced thereto except upwardly through the fuelbed. The air and steam enter the chamber 20 through a duct 22 into whichprotrudes a nozzle 23 through which the air and steam may be deliveredto the duct. i

The operation of this mechanism may be described asv follows: The airunder pressure is introduced to the bridge wall chamber 8 and assingthence into the chambers 7 upwar y through the nozzles 13 enters theshort .flues or compartments '14. The velocassing across the openings 17communicat mg with the fire box at the top of the fuel bed, is suchthat-it produces suction or a partial vacuum, whereby a portion oftheflame or heated gases is drawn through the openings 17 and uniting withthe air so introduced, raises its temperature to a' point at which itwill readily combine with the combustible gases that arise from the fuelbed as heretofore explained. As this air asses upwardly through thechambers 19 ocated be tween the vertical inner walls and the outer wallsof. the furnace, the air is mixed thoroughly with the induced current offlame and heated gases, and since'the chambers 19 increase in size asthey extend upwardly by reason of the taper18 of the walls 16, the

proper expansion, thus preventing any back pressure as heretoforeexplained, which back pressure would result in the absence of theenlargement of the chambers 19." o

The air as it leaves the chambers 19'liaving an u ward velocity due toits pressure, tends to f0 low the curve of thearch as indicated by thearrows, but as it spreads, its motion is checked on each side by thecurrent from the opposite side, whereby it is caused to slowly settledownwardlywhere it meets the ascending imflammable gases orunconsumedfuel elements rising from the fuel bed, thus producing perfector approximately perfect combustion and consequently intense heat in theupper part of the furnace or wherever the conditions stated are broughtabout. The zone of gases, however, is constantly maintained immediatelyabove the fuel bed whereby the latter is protected from the air above asheretofore explained. In this construction, provision is made forsupporting'a deep bed. of fuel, upon a water-cooled grate. burning ofthe fuel in the bed, together with theadmission of a certain amountofsteam with the air, tends to reduce the formation of clinkers whileproviding the necessary heat for thedecomposition of the steam and theliberation of thevolatile h'ydro carbons.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: i

1. The herein described process consisting first'in' passing 'air andsteam up through a thick bed of fuel in various stages of combusrisefrom the bed; second, maintaining a above. the fuel bed; .and third,causing a downwardly directed current of heated air to mingle with theupper stratum of the rising gases without disturbing the gas zoneimmediately in contact with the fuel bed.

2. The herein described gas g'eneratfngand heat-producingprocessconsisting in-passing in various stages of comb'ustionresulting in ityof the air on entering these fines and" airis allowed the necessaryfreedom for The slow tion whereby gas is generated and caused to fuelbed protecting zone of gas immediately a gaseous fluid up through at-hick bed of fuel passing air the production of fuel gas and'causing'fthe' same to pass upwardly above the fuel bed; upwardly underpressure on op posite sides the fuel bed and causing a portion of vthehot gases to mingle therewith in thep ane of the top of the fuel bedwhereby the air so introduced is considerably heated and caused. toenter the furnace considerably above'the fuel bed and caused tominglewith the-upper stratum of the rising gases; and

.maintamlngaproteoting zone of unconsumed fuel elements and'lncombustible gases immer di'atel above the fuel bed.

f3. he herein described" process consisting irilpassing 'air'and steamupthrough a thick be 'offuel'in various stages of combustion whereb gas,is generated and caused to rise upwarr y from thebed; passing airupwardly under pressure at the side of'the fuelbed whereby a partialvacuum is produced, and' a portion of the flame and heated gases at thetop of the fuel. bed caused to'mingle with the air, whereby the latteris heated to a considerable degree, and under conditions separating' it;from the body of the fuel gases rising from the; bed; and allowing it toexpand in volume as it moves upwardly," causing the air thus prepared.-to mingle with the gases rising from thefuel.bed, and maintaining aprotecting-zone of the fuel'bed.

' whereby gases il'nniediately above 4. The herein described processconsisting in assing'air and steam up through a thick bed of fuel invarious stages of combustion as is generated and caused to rise from thefuel bed, introducing heated air to the furnace the top of the fuel bedand causing it to mingle with the upper stratum of the rising fuel ataconsiderable distance above gases, and maintaining a zone of unconsumedgases containing some incombustible elements immediately above the fuelbed.

5. Thevherein described process consisting in passing a combustionsupporting medium and a combustion retarding medium up through a "thickbed of fuel in various stages of combustion, whereby gas is,generatedand .in maintaining'a protecting gas zone immediately above the top of adeep bed of fuel in various stages of combustion, passing agaseous fluidup through the fuel bed, and intro-' ducing opposing currents of airabove the produoed zone of gases which rise from the top of the bed andprotect the latter from direct contact with the air.

7. The herein described process consisting,

in introducing air above the to of a deep bed of fuel in various stagesof comliustion, maintaining a I rotecting gas zone between the top ofthe iel bed and the air so introduced,

and passing a gaseous fluid up through the fuel bed, the said fluidbeing of a nature to" generate the gas which rises above the bed. Intestimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

' DENA NELSON,

A. J. OBRIEN."

caused to rise from the fuel bed, and causing

